Dongargarh: At least 10 shops were gutted in a fire near the famous Bamleshwari temple at Dongargarh in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district yesterday night. “The fire spread from a few shops located along with the steps of the hilltop temple early in the morning,” a police official said. Nobody was injured, though goods worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed, he said.
Preliminary investigation suggested that a short circuit in a nearby transformer caused the fire which quickly spread to some 10 shops selling puja materials and plastic knick-knacks. The fire brigade took 3 hours to douse the blaze. Santosh Singh, Rajnandgaon, Superintendent of police said the district administration would provide a compensation of Rs 20,000 each to the affected shop owners. Bamleshwari temple at Dongargarh, 110 km away from the state capital Raipur, is a popular pilgrimage spot.